The United States declared it essential for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran, warning that a nuclear-armed Tehran would be unacceptable to the entire international community. The call came after Iran missed a 31 August deadline to halt uranium enrichment.
Robert Joseph, the US under secretary of state for arms control and international security, told reporters in Washington that the time had come to act: "A nuclear-armed Iran is intolerable," adding that costs must now be imposed on the country.
Joseph said he personally believed a Security Council vote on sanctions could occur within September. He expressed confidence that permanent members Russia and China, despite apparent reluctance, would back the measures, given their earlier support for UN Resolution 1696, which had threatened sanctions if Iran defied the enrichment deadline.
The push intensified after President George W. Bush described Iran's leadership as tyrants and insisted they could not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons. Separate six-nation talks on the nuclear standoff were set to open in Berlin. Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are entirely civilian in nature.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.